Our OT evaluation yesterday was something of a mixed bag. It took two hours. The vast majority of that was mostly the OT asking questions and listening to my answers. We filled out one test instrument that was a parent questionnaire designed to give a "sensory profile".
We did very little hands-on work with Ava. She did teach me how to test Ava's gag reflex. That went startlingly well actually. As it turns out, Ava's gag reflex is not overly sensitive. Ava was very, very anti-social. Perhaps if Ava had been more receptive, the evaluation would have been more hands-on.
The OT observed me giving Ava lunch. She requested that I serve Ava one thing I know she likes (grapes) and one thing that she doesn't love, but she might occasionally eat (egg). Now, Ava used to eat egg when she was littler. I haven't gotten her to eat it in months. Today, she ate it with very little prompting. Why do they always do that?
And now I just wait for the results of the evaluation. It feels odd. I think somehow I thought this evaluation would provide a lot of answers and I hadn't stopped to think about the fact that I wouldn't get them right away. Silly of me. I used to do nothing but speech evaluations and so I know that tests have to be scored before the results are given. And so the next wait begins.
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In other news, we're now trying liquid oral antibiotics for the mystery ailment that's been upsetting the kittens' tummies for over three weeks now. I will be trying the first doses tonight (two different kinds). Somehow I'm not expecting this to go well at all.
A Speech Pathologist Mother and Her Daughter Diagnosed with Childhood Apraxia of Speech
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
All Set for OT Evaluation
Our OT evaluation is scheduled for today. My mom (who just retired last week - Congratulations Mom!) is going to watch Michael. As much as I love Michael, he is a rather overwhelming presence when around. I need to be able to focus on Ava and the occupational therapist and on answering her questions rather than on trying to keep Michael quiet and out of the way.
In one way, I am excited. I know speech pathology. I know Apraxia. Those areas are familiar and comfortable. I know very little about occupational therapy and I am excited professionally about getting to watch an occupational therapist at work. Even as a mother I am excited. Ava will finally be getting an assessment and hopefully some help to address some of her other needs. I always had some idea of how to address her speech issues, but I don't know how to help her with her sensory ones. So I am excited to be getting some help for her in that area.
When the OT called to set up a time for her evaluation we chatted for a few minutes. One of the things she asked me was if I thought Ava had a particularly sensitive gag reflex. (She asked the question in the context of her food pickiness.) I told her I hadn't really observed Ava gagging while eating because she won't even try things she thinks she won't like. So, the OT said, "Do you think she'll let me check her gag reflex?" Hahahahahahaha. Oh my. What I said, very politely, was, "We can try." What I thought was, "Hell, no!" So, I think we'll be looking at a very... interesting hour later today.
In one way, I am excited. I know speech pathology. I know Apraxia. Those areas are familiar and comfortable. I know very little about occupational therapy and I am excited professionally about getting to watch an occupational therapist at work. Even as a mother I am excited. Ava will finally be getting an assessment and hopefully some help to address some of her other needs. I always had some idea of how to address her speech issues, but I don't know how to help her with her sensory ones. So I am excited to be getting some help for her in that area.
When the OT called to set up a time for her evaluation we chatted for a few minutes. One of the things she asked me was if I thought Ava had a particularly sensitive gag reflex. (She asked the question in the context of her food pickiness.) I told her I hadn't really observed Ava gagging while eating because she won't even try things she thinks she won't like. So, the OT said, "Do you think she'll let me check her gag reflex?" Hahahahahahaha. Oh my. What I said, very politely, was, "We can try." What I thought was, "Hell, no!" So, I think we'll be looking at a very... interesting hour later today.
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Sunday, August 7, 2011
Card Sets Stage One Complete
All of the card sets for the early emerging consonants have now been posted. You can find links to all of them here. (In case you were wondering, there is no final /h/ set because the /h/ sound does not actually occur in the final position of words in English.) I spent a lot of time working on these sets and I'm pretty happy with the final product. I'd love to get some feedback from any of you who are using them. Also, please let me know if you find any typos or errors so I can get those corrected.
I am actually working on a book of therapy materials that expands on these basic card sets. I'm expanding the backs of the cards with symbols so the cards can be mixed together and easily resorted back into sets by phoneme, position, or vowel and with symbols for sorting into phonological processes. The book will also include simple two-syllable words for each phoneme and phrase/sentence level cards for each phoneme as well. There will also be games (board game, bingo, etc) for each set of words. I am still at least 4-6 weeks from having a rough draft done, but when I do finish the rough draft I would like to get a couple of SLP's lined up to do some proofreading and product testing. If you are interested, send me an email at testyyettrying(at)gmail(dot)com.
So, for now, I have no more free sets in the works. Once I get this first book up and running, I plan to start working on free sets for the mid-emerging sounds (f, v, k, g, s, z, w, y), but that is several months away.
I am actually working on a book of therapy materials that expands on these basic card sets. I'm expanding the backs of the cards with symbols so the cards can be mixed together and easily resorted back into sets by phoneme, position, or vowel and with symbols for sorting into phonological processes. The book will also include simple two-syllable words for each phoneme and phrase/sentence level cards for each phoneme as well. There will also be games (board game, bingo, etc) for each set of words. I am still at least 4-6 weeks from having a rough draft done, but when I do finish the rough draft I would like to get a couple of SLP's lined up to do some proofreading and product testing. If you are interested, send me an email at testyyettrying(at)gmail(dot)com.
So, for now, I have no more free sets in the works. Once I get this first book up and running, I plan to start working on free sets for the mid-emerging sounds (f, v, k, g, s, z, w, y), but that is several months away.
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